بوظة عربي
Slightly sweet, chewy and delicious, Arabic ice cream is unlike any ice cream you've ever tried. No ice cream machine required!
Arabic Ice Cream in Syria
Growing up, I spent nearly every summer visiting relatives in Syria. One summer, when I was twelve years old, my father took me on a tour of Old Damascus to show me where he grew up.
We spent the day wandering the streets of Old Damascus and ended up at one of the world's oldest souqs: Souq al Hamidieh. After several hours of walking beneath the midday sun, we headed to Bakdash, an ice cream shop loved by locals and tourists alike. Established in 1895, it is one of the world's oldest ice cream parlors and is a beloved tourist attraction.
In the tiny, crowded parlor, we shouted our order over the heads of other patrons waiting for their ice creams. After we received our ice creams, we weaved our way up the rickety stairs to the second floor where we could sit at a little table to enjoy them. I had never been a fan of Arabic ice cream, with its chewy texture and exotic pine flavour. Yet, that day, sitting in a sweaty little parlor with my dad, I enjoyed Arabic ice cream for the first time.
The recipe I've included below comes after years of trial and error. I experimented with over a dozen recipes in an attempt to recreate the flavour of the ice cream one would find in Syria.
The Ingredients
Dairy: This ice cream is made with a roughly 6:1 whole milk to cream ratio. I've never tried making this ice cream with lower fat milk, but it definitely wouldn't have the same mouthfeel or flavour as full-fat milk.
Sahlab and mastic: These are the two star ingredients that give the ice cream its unique flavour and notable chewy texture. Sahlab is a flour made up solely of dried orchid root. Most sahlab sold in Middle Eastern grocery stores is actually an artificial powdered mix made up of sugar, corn starch and flavourings. Make sure to purchase the sahlab that is made up of orchid root powder.
Mastic is a tree resin that is collected off the barks of the mastic tree grown in the Mediterranean coastal region from Syria to Spain. Its flavour resembles pine and cedar and gives Arabic ice cream its distinctive taste.
FAQ
Check the ingredients to make sure it contains orchid root powder. If it doesn't, don't use it for this recipe. If all you can find in sahlab drink powder with orchid root powder as one of several ingredients, then increase the amount to ¼ cup. You want to make sure you have enough orchid root to give the ice cream its chewy texture.
Certainly! While this ice cream is traditionally made with pistachios, you can use crushed almonds instead. If you want to avoid nuts altogether, then skip rolling it and serve it as scoopable ice cream kept in an airtight container in your freezer.
You want to avoid ruining the flavour of this ice cream with other aromas from your freezer. The best way to do this is to wrap the roll in plastic wrap then wrap it in aluminum foil
Arabic Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1.5 L whole milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon salep (sahlab)
- ½ teaspoon mastic
- 1 cup pistachios crushed
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine all ingredients except pistachios and simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly.
- Keep simmering until the mixture thickens and falls in a ribbon from the ladle.
- Turn off the heat and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- Pour mixture into your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, blend the cream mixture for 3-4 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the freezer. Freeze for two hours.
- Blend the mixture again for about 3-4 minutes.
- Place back into the freezer and freeze for two hours.
- Blend again for 3-4 minutes.
- In the meantime, pour crushed pistachios onto a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap.
- Pour cream mixture on top of crushed pistachios. Cover with plastic wrap and put back into the freezer for one hour.
- Take the cookie sheet out of the freezer and begin rolling the semi-frozen ice cream like you would with a swiss roll, forming a log.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for four hours. When it has frozen completely, wrap the log with aluminum foil to prevent the ice cream from absorbing odours and flavours from the freezer.
Nutrition
بوظة عربي
المكونات
- 1.5 لتر من الحليب كامل الدسم
- 1 كوب من كريمة الخفق
- 1 كوب سكر
- 2 معلقة كبيرة سحلب
- ½ معلقة صغيرة مستكة
- 1 كوب فستق مطحون
التعليمات
- توضع جميع المكونات ماعدا الفستق في وعاء كبير ثم يُترك الوعاء على نار متوسطة مع استمرار التقليب.
- يُترك على النار مع التقليب حتى يصل إلى الغليان وينزل الخليط من المغرفة في هيئة شريط متواصل.
- عند الوصول إلى هذه المرحلة يُرفع الوعاء من على النار ويترك جانبًا ليبرد لمدة 20 دقيقة.
- ثم يُضاف الخليط إلى الخلاط مع استخدام أداة الخفق وتُضاف كريمة الخفق ويستمر الخفق لمدة 3-4 دقائق.
- يُغطي الوعاء بكيس بلاستيك ويوضع بالفريزر ليجمد لمدة ساعتين.
- يخرج الخليط ويُخفق مرة أخرى لمدة 3-4 دقائق.
- يُوضع الخليط للمرة الثانية في الفريزر ويُترك ليجمد لمدة ساعتين.
- يُخرج الخليط ويُخفق ثانية لمدة 3-4 دقائق.
- في الوقت نفسه يُسكب الفستق المطحون على ورق زبدة موضوع تحته غلاف بلاستيكي.
- يُسكب المزيج فوق الفستق المطحون ويُغطي بغلاف بلاستيكي ويُوضع بالفريزر ليجمد لمدة ساعة واحدة.
- يُخرج المزيج من الفريزر ويُلف بدحرجة ورقة الزبدة بالأيس كريم كما يحدث مع كيكة السويسرول لتشكيل أسطوانة في النهاية.
- تُغطى الأسطوانة بغلاف بلاستيكي وترجع إلى الفريزر وتترك لمدة 4 ساعات. عندما يتجمد الأيس كريم تمامًا تُلف الأسطوانة بورقة ألمونيوم حتى لا يمتص الأيس الكريم الروائح والنكهات الأخرى بالفريزر.
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